Page 51 of A Noble Affair
“Of course,” Charles murmured. He followed in his son’s wake, the corner of his mouth lifting.
When they reached the gallery, Charles greeted the dancing teacher, adding, “This is my son, Louis.” The elderly man stood gracefully and walked over to Louis and bowed. Louis bent loosely at the waist and flopped back up again.
“Non, non, jeune homme. Comme ça.” The dancing teacher once again executed a perfect bow and snapped upright. Louis imitated him more seriously this time. “Bravo” was his reward.
The deep chimes of the doorbell sounded again, and Paltier was already on his way to answer it. Charles, unable to stay in place, followed him to the head of the stairs. A group of students poured in, laughing and chattering. Some fell silent when they took in the magnificent staircase. Louis walked over, and his father could see he was searching the crowd for someone in particular.
“Bonjour, Madame James.” Charles welcomed the flustered English teacher, whose stout frame was at the head of the students advancing up the stairs towards the ballroom gallery. “I see you’ve gathered everyone in advance?”
“Yes, we thought it would be better than ringing your doorbell every five minutes.” She was slightly out of breath as she walked to the top of the stairs. “I hope it’s okay that I invited another teacher as a chaperone.”
Charles glanced at the wiry, gray-haired man, herding the last of the students at the bottom of the stairs. There was no one behind him. “What an excellent idea,” he said, distracted. “Is Mademoiselle Whitmore not coming?”
“Oh, she’ll be here soon enough, but she’s driving because it’s too far for her son to walk.”
“Of course.” Charles’s shoulders relaxed, and he took the stairs two at a time on his way up.
Louis,meanwhile, went straight over to Eloise Prynne and offered to show her some of the apartments on the first floor.
“You look…clean,” she said, laughing, when they were out of earshot.
Louis flushed with indignation. “I’m always clean. I take a shower every day.”
“Aw, that’s not what I meant.” She grinned, her expression kind. “You look clean, like, not on any drugs and not smelling like smoke. I like you like this.”
“Oh.” The two were walking down the long stretch of hallway, and Louis forgot he was supposed to be pointing things out to her. He watched her admire the antique furniture and beautiful architecture. On her left, through the small pane-glass windows, the fountain spouted water in graceful arcs, as the sounds of birds chirping reached them.
“I’m going to tell my dad about the drugs,” he said, breaking into her quiet observation. “We’re going to Pontchâteau next weekend for the races, and we’ll have time together there. I know if I talk to him about it he’ll make sure it stops.”
“Good.” She faced him earnestly. “That’s good news.”
“Will you come to the ball with me?” He blurted out the words before he could think of what he was saying and blushed furiously as soon as they were out.
She gave a dimpled smile, and her own cheeks were tinged pink. “I’d love to, but I’ve already told Pierce I’d go with him.” When Louis’s face fell, she added, “We’re just friends.”
Louis had seen the way Pierce looked at her and doubted it was friendship he wanted. He didn’t know what to say, so he turned back dumbly without having shown her anything at all.
“Louis, I’d be delighted to dance with you, however.” Her little nose wrinkled as she smiled. “If you’ll ask me.”
“Have you promised Pierce that you’d be his partner today?”
“M-mm.” She shook her head, waiting.
“Maybe I could practice with you. But I don’t really know how to dance.”
“Me neither. We’ll learn together.”
“Your father’sasking to come visit you while I’m at work and take you for a short walk. Do you want that, honey?” Chastity and Thomas were in their small car, about to turn into the château.
“No.”
“Oh.” Chastity was taken aback by the blunt refusal. This was news to her, but she didn’t press the issue because she had driven through the iron gates and her beat-up Volkswagon was crunching over the pebbled driveway.
As soon as she stepped out of the car and lifted her face, she gasped. The château was immense, particularly when viewed from this close up. “Oh, dear. This old car is out of place here.” She went around to open her son’s door, and they made slow progress to the front entrance.
When she rang the bell, she saw Charles through the glass panes, jogging ahead of the butler down the stairs.
“Chastity.” He took her by the arms and gave her two kisses, one on each cheek. Before she could recover from her surprise, he reached out for Thomas’s hand and shook it gravely. “I’m glad to see you looking so well, Thomas.”
